Overwolf Electron Technical Overview

ow-electron is a solution built on top of Electron and aimed at allowing electron apps access to Overwolf APIs.

• @overwolf/ow-electron is a package based on the electron package, adding several new features to it.
• @overwolf/ow-electron-builder is a package based on the electron-builder package, which supports building ow-electron apps.
• @overwolf/electron-is-overwolf - similar to the electron-is-dev package, allows your app to check whether it's currently running as ow-electron, or as a base electron app.

ow-electron App Creation

For more information, see onboarding resources and Intro to Overwolf apps.

ow-electron features

The following sections outline the different ow-electron features and how to enable them.

The owadview tag

The <owadview/> tag, which is based on the Electron <webview/> tag, automatically hosts and manages ads in your app.

To use it, place the <owadview/> tag (no attributes required) inside a <div> tag, with the size of the standard IAB Ad unit you wish to display.

For more information, see Working with Ads.

Anonymous Analytics

Anonymous analytics is automatically enabled for any ow-electron app and is used to generate usage reports. Usage reports include data about when the app is launched, and when a the app's window is shown.

note

If you do no not want anonymous analytics, you will need to opt-out. For more information, see Sample app, Anonymous analytics.

Consent Management Platform (CMP)

A CMP makes it easier for you to meet the stricter legal requirements governing data collection in certain parts of the world. It helps you by handling the process of receiving consent to collect user cookies. This also allows you to show ads to users living in those areas.

OW-Electron comes with a built in CMP which your app can utilize out of the box. This allows you to:

• Check if a user needs to be informed of the CMP.
• Show the CMP itself (if necessary) and apply any settings needed to the entire OW-Electron package.

For more information about the CMP and how to work with it, see the Consent-Management-Platform.

Distribution Resources

Overwolf provides several different hosting/distribution services for apps running on its different platforms. These services have been adapted to support Overwolf Electron, and include:

• Content Delivery Network (CDN)—Free hosting and distribution of app release files, managed through the App Developers' Console.
• Custom Installer—A customizable designed installer, with a built-in CMP introduction flow.
• Updater Endpoint—An electron-updater endpoint, to ensure your app is always kept up to date.

Contact us for more information.

Code signing

With ow-electron you will need to provide your own code signing certificate from a trusted Certificate Authority (e.g., DigiCert, Sectigo, etc.). When users run or install your app, their system can verify the signature using the public key from your certificate. If the verification passes, your app can be installed and run without OS warnings.